Chances are you’ve seen God in a painting, be it as a kindly old man, a hand descending from the clouds or a ray of sun rippling across the trees. And you might have wondered why exactly God is portrayed as a bearded white man. The history behind this is more complicated than it might seem at first. Continue reading Why God is a White Man: God the Father in Western Art

On November 30th I finished writing my second novel. It feels weird to call it my second novel because the first one was written in a haze of youth, naivety and sophomoric storytelling. I know for a fact that I’ll look back on this project in the same light when a similar amount of time has passed, but for now it’s the apex of my creative efforts to date. Continue reading I Wrote a Novel in 30 Days

The growth of self importance in the average person can be connected to a few different ideas, namely the decline of religion and monarchy and the rise of consumerism and humanism. As the sun set on Feudal England around the 1300s, this way of life was replaced by a set of ideals largely borrowed from rediscovered Greek and Roman texts, summed up best by Thracian philosopher Protagoras – “Man is the measure of all things”. Continue reading The Ego Crisis

New atheism was a movement that was born in the mid 2000s – often understood as the brainchild of 4 men – Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens. These men are behind best selling books such as The God Delusion and God is Not Great, books that I think create a straw man out of religion – that is to say they blatantly portray it as something it is not. Continue reading (New) Atheism is Dead

Political philosophy is an ancient and wide ranging discipline. People have long been heavily invested in the manner by which they are to be ruled or rule – be it by a benevolent dictator or dedicated group effort. Many people have a desire to better understand the history of political philosophy but feel lost as beginners in such a complex discipline. Continue reading How to Get into Political Philosophy

The music of Bon Iver will never escape its mythology. That iconic tale of a heartbroken Justin Vernon retreating to the wilderness of Wisconsin and returning with one of the great works of our time like some shadowy, promethean figure unlocking indie rock’s full potential. Regardless of what you have to say about his fragile, infamous origins, there is no question about Bon Iver’s place in our culture as a true master of time and space. Continue reading The Evolution of Bon Iver

There is a moment in Life of Pi when the titular protagonist, having recounted the same story twice, asks a novelist which version he prefers – the fantastical, surreal one or the dark, hopeless one. The novelist chooses the fantastical version without pause and by doing so, the meaning of the film is laid plain for us. Today I want to examine both my own relationship to the film and what it can teach all of us about purpose and the absurd. Continue reading The Existentialism of Life of Pi: Chaos, Meaning and The Absurd

The first half of 2017 has been amazing for music. So many legendary bands have made triumphant returns to music and there are more on the way. Some albums released this year have already made their way into my list of all-time favorites. I don’t claim to listen to the most music or the best music but today I’m going to list my 11 favorite albums released in the first half of 2017 that I think everyone should listen to. Continue reading Best Albums Winter/Spring 2017